John windle



(No Model.)

J. WINDLE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING BOILER SECTIONS.

Patented Mar. 1, 1887;

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* NITED STATES ATENT MACHINE FOR MAKING BOILER-SECTIONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 358.524, dated March 1, 1887.

Application filed November 8, 1886. Serial No. 218,293.

(No model.) Patented in England October 21,1880, No. 4,288; in. Germany March 21,1881, No. 17,706; in France June 1,1881, No. 143,775, and in Belgium June 1, 1881, No. 54,825.

To all whom it may aoncerm' Be it known that I, J OHN WINDLE, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and late of Moston, in the county of Lancaster, England, but now of Barrow-in-Furness, of said county, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Mechanism for the Manufacture of Stcanr Generators, Shells, or Cylinders, 85c; and I do hereby declare the same to be described as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, the nature of my invention being duly defined in the claim hereinafter presented.

My invention relates, principally, to cylindrical steam-generators, or to generators having cylindrical shells or fiues, and has for its object to obtain an increase in strength or re sistance.

The shells of steam generators are ordinarily formed of plates bent into the required shapes and connected together by means of longitudinal and circumferential lines of rivets. The longitudinal seams or connections are great sources of weakness. To avoid these seams I form the shells of the generator by connecting together anumber of rings ofmetal, each ring being formed by a rolling operation from an ingot of steel, or from a bloom or mass of metal, in a similar manner as when rolling railway-tires, the ring being formed without a joint, seam, or Weld. My invention is applicable in the construction of other cylindrical vessels-as, for example, of steam-reservoirs, and of boilers used for various purposes, and in the formation of the internal lines of steamgenerators.

In the rolling-mill which I have devised for use in the carrying out of my invention I employ a fixed and a movable roller or roll adapted to roll the required rings. The axles of these rollers are'provided with top bearings, and to enable the ingot ring or mass of metal to be placed in position and the rolled ring to be removed the upper bearing of the movable roller is arranged to be withdrawn. I prefer to fix or form the said bearing on the outer end of a lever or lever-frame which is hinged to a sliding standard or carriage, which is connected with the carriage which carries the said movable roller, and to act upon the said sliding standard by means of one, two, or more hydraulic cylinders. I employ vibrating frames carrying supporting-rollers; but by preference each frame carries two, three, or. more rollers in place of one, and the upper ends of the studs or shafts are stayed or supported. I connect a number of the carryingrollers by means of bevel or suitable gearing with the revolving shafts, so that they assist in the carrying round of the ring.

My improved apparatus is applicable in the rolling or finishing of cast-steel rings or cylinders; and in order that my invention may be fully understood I have attached hereunto a sheet of drawings made to a scale of about half an inch to the foot and marked with letters of reference.

Referring to the said drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section; Fig. 2, a plan, and Fig. 3 an end elevation, of the apparatus which I have designed for use in the rolling of the metal rings. Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are illustrations of forms of joints for rings, all being as hereinafter explained.

In the said figures, (t is the fixed roll, and b the movable roll.

The roll a is fixed or formed upon a vertical shaft, 0, which is mounted to revolve in bearings. In the example one of these hearings is formed in or secured to afiXed standard, (I, which is cast upon the foundation-plate e, and the other bearin g is formed on a strong bracket, j, which is secured to the under side of the said plate. The upper end of the shaft is sustained against the rolling pressure by means of a-half-bearing which is formed in a piece, 9, which is secured to the top of the standard (Z. The shaft 0 is connected by means of bevelgearing h with a shaft which is actuated by suitable means to impart the necessary revolving motion to the roll a. v

The roll I) is fixed or formed upon a vertical shaft, '5, which is mounted in bearings j j, formed on or fixed to a movable carriage, k, which is formed and fitted to slide in suitable planed guiding-ways formed in the foundationplate (2, as seen in the cross-section,- Fig. 4. A movable standard, 2, is also fitted to slide in a similar manner in ways formed in the foundation-plate, and to this standard is hinged a forked lever or lever-frame, m. The outer end of the said lever is fitted with .a bearing, m, in which bearing the upper end of the shaft i is seated, whereby the said upper end is'sustained against the rolling pressure, as in the case of the shaft 0. The sliding standard Z is connected by means of side bars, n, with the carriage 7c, and the said side bars are each formed at one end with T-heads, which enter recesses in the said carriage.

In the standard d are seated the cylinders of two hydraulic rams, 0, which bear by their outer ends against the sliding standard Z. When liquid is forced into the said cylinders, the said sliding standardis caused to move in a direction toward the right hand in Fig. 1, and in consequence of the connection with the carriage k the latter is also caused to move in the same direction, whereby the roll I) is caused to approach the roll a. As the fulcrum of the lever m, which carries the top bearing, m, is fixed to the standard Z, the said lever moves in unison with the said standard and carriage, so that the efficiency of the bearing is not interfered with.

In the carriage Iris formed or seated the cylinder of a hydraulic ram, p, which abuts upon the body of a ram-cylinder, g, which will be referred to hereinafter, and which is firmly secured to the under side of the foundationplate 6. When liquid is forced into the cylinder of the ram 1), the carriage k is forced in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the carriage k is so moved, the upper end of the shaft i is released from the bearing m, and the amount of independent movement permitted to the said carriage is such as that after such movement the lever m may be turned upon its fulcrum, so as to remove the. said bearing and the end of the said lever out of the way.

In order that thelever in may be readily tilted up, it is formed with a tail, which sustains a balance-weight, m,- but, if preferred, the said lever may be raised or tilted up by hydraulic power, or by other suitable means-as, for example, a hydraulic ram might act upon a chain which would be attached by one end to a drum upon the said lever, or might act upon a rack gearing with a wheel or quadrant upon the lever.

The cylinder qis provided with a ram, 1-, which is connected with a sliding cross-head, s, which in turn is connected by rods 8' with the carriage 70. When the said ram is forced outward, the carriage 7c is drawn in a direction contrary to the indication by the arrow, whereby the rolls are separated, and when the T-heads 0f the bars a take their bearings in the recesses in the carriage the standard 1 is compelled to move in unison with the carriage. The ram 1" is used to move the carriage k, after the lever m has been lowered, until the shaft '5 takes the bearing m, and also to move the roll b away from the roll a, for the introduction of the metal to be rolled and for the removal of the rolled ring.

The various hydraulic cylinders are supplied with water or liquid by means of pipes, which I have not considered necessary to be represented in the drawings, and suitable valves for the control of the flow of such liquid are provided.

Upon strong studs or fixed shafts which are bolted or secured to the foundation-plate e are mounted vibrating frames 25 if, each of which is formed with arms which carry a spindle, upon which is mounted a number of rollers, a, there being three such rollers in each frame in the example. Upon the said frame are formed worm spur-quadrants, with which gear worms 11 2;, which are fixed upon a shaft. w, which is mounted in suitable bearings. The said shaft can be turned by means of a hand-wheel, X, and when so turned the frames t are caused to turn upon their studs or shafts. Thewormteeth on the two frames are made right and left, so that the two frames turn in opposite directions, and all. the rollers'u are thereby moved toward or from the roll a simultaneously.

The top of the plate e forms a level table, upon which the work can be moved; but in order to facilitate the movements of the ring while it is being rolled I mount carrying-rollers y 3 to revolve in recesses or slots in the said plate, the said rollers projecting slightly above the surface of the plate. The rollers y are provided with extended axles, which are connected by means of bevelgearing with connecting and driving shafts 2, which impart positive motion to the said rollers.

In the example the roll a is formed with top and bottom flanges, the roll I) being plain, the rolls being suitable for producing plain cylindrical rings without flanges; but the forms of the rolls will be varied to suit the required formations of the rings, as hereinbefore mentioned. When operating with the machine, a bloom or ingot of metal is formed into a hollow cylindrical shape, so that it will slip into position over theroll a, while the lever-frame m is tilted up, as aforesaid. The said leverframe is then lowered, and the rams o are forced outward, whereby the carriage 7c is moved to force the roll b against the inner surface of the cylindrical mass of metal, which is thus nipped between the two rolls.

The roll a is caused to revolve, and the metal is carried round and rolled, the roll 12 being forced nearer to the roll aas the operation proceeds. tion which will so move the frames t as tobring the rollers a into contact with the ring being rolled, whereby the said ring is supported and guided, so that its center is kept in the center line of the machine-that is to say, of the two rolls. In the drawings, Arepresents the ring being rolled. When the ring has been rolled until the required diameter has been attained, the operator shuts off the flow of liquid to the cylinders of the rams 0, so as to arrest the sliding movement of the carriage k, and when The shaft 10 is turned in the direc- ITO it is considered that the ring has been sufficiently rolled the liquid is admitted to the cylinder 4; to force outward the ram 9', whereby the carriage 7c is drawn back, so as to withdraw the roll I) from the ring. The hand-wheel w is turned in the direction which will withdraw the rollers a from contact with the ring. Liquid is admitted to the cylinder of the ram 1), so as to force outward the said ram, whereby the carriage k is moved a short distance in the indicated direction, and the upper end of the shaft t is thereby moved out of the bearing m, as hereinbefore mentioned. The lever m is then tilted up and the ring is free to be removed from the machine. The upper bearing, an, may be mounted otherwise than upon a lever, so long as it travels in unison with the carriage 7c and can be moved out of the way.

The rolls a and b are arranged to be changeable for other rolls, so that various forms of rings may be produced.

Figs. 5 to 8 illustrate some of the forms of joints which I propose to obtain by rolling the rings to suitable forms. In Fig. 5 the ring is supposed to be rolled with a flange at each end, so that the rings may be riveted or connected together by the flanges, to produce a boilershell or a flue or other body. -In Fig. 6 the 'rings are of a slightly-conical form, so that the small end of one ring will enter a suitable distance into the large end of another ring; or the rings may be cylindrical, each alternate ring being larger in diameter than the intermediate rings, so that the latter will enter a suitable distance into the former. In Fig. 7 the rings are formed into cylinders of uniform diameter, and are connected together by means of jointrings, which may be formed in the ordinary manner, or be rolled in accordance with my invention, or be produced by rolling a cylindrical ring and cutting it up into a number of joint-rings. In Fig. 8 the rings are formed to be connected by means of a socket-joint secured by riveting.

For some uses the rings may be out and fiattened out or shaped into flat or curved plates. I do not confine myself to the indicated forms of rings, as other forms may be produced by the means herein described and indicated.

Any suitable means or method for preparing the ingot or bloom. for the rolling may be used. In the methodI have adopted I punch or form a hole in the ingot or bloom and introduce a mandrel thereinto. The mass of metal, with the mandrel in position, is then placed under a steam-hammer in a swage which is formed to confine the metal sidewise, so as to produce an extension of the length under the blows of the hammer until a rough cylinder of sufficient length is obtained. In some cases I cast an ingot in the form of a hollow cylinder, which, when necessary, I elongate in the manner indicated.

Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said invention and the manner in which I propose to carry the same into practical effect, I would have it to be understood, in conclusion, that I claim- The machine or combination, substantially as described, for rolling a metal ring from a tubular blank or ingot, such machine consisting of the foundation-plate e and its mechanism to effect a revolution thereon of the blank or ingot, the revoluble rolls a and I), having mechanism for revolving the latter of such rolls, the movable carriage k, and the standard Z, connected, as described, by side bars with such carriage, the hydraulic rams o be tween the standards d and Z, the hydraulic ram p, the cylinder qand its ram r, and mechanism for connecting it with the carriage 7c, and the two sets of guide-rollers it, having mechanism for operating them, as explained, the whole being for use as specified.

JOHN WINDLE.

Witnesses:

RIcHD. HIGHAM, ALEX. M. HIGHAM,

Solicitors, Manchester. 

